Where's Your Head At
You still need all the intel you can get before the big push. Dangerous waters ahead. Cast * Paula Cohen * Kefilwe Lobatse * Jody Marsh * Diana Duncan-Petley * Darren * Louise Bailey Plot Heading Right For You You’re in Runner 3’s shack looking for more of Van Ark’s intel on Comansys. Paula and Doctor Lobatse seem to have made up after Janine’s intervention. Out Of Range The gang talk about their identities as Runners in the apocalypse, but this insightful conversation is cut short by the appearance of a troupe of Dedlocks. Can't Lose Them Now Louise suspects the Dedlocks have been mind controlled and suggests trailing them, since they are known hostiles. Go Faster Paula manages to tune in to the Dedlocks’ radio frequency and you hear Diana giving orders to attack the militia’s warehouses. Quite A Nice Gun Even more Dedlocks approach, bringing Diana’s forces to over two hundred. Darren’s voice cuts in to your comms - Runner 4 insists that you try and save him. Back To Abel Darren is interrogated by Diana and then promptly shot after she decides he is “not persuadable”. Rescue Maxine Paula tells Runner 4 that she will make sure Janine keeps her on active duty while the rest of you head to the Laetitia Greenwald to rescue Maxine. Transcript rummaging LOUISE BAILEY: Not exactly tidy, was he, this Runner Three? I’d have gone on report if my cell was in the state of this shack! KEFILWE LOBATSE: It’s exactly what I’d expect of a young man like Simon Lauchlan. It sounds as if he was suffering from some severe mental health problems. PAULA COHEN: Five, can you see anything useful under that pile of unwashed plates? Any sign of more Van Ark intel on Comansys? We need to make sure we’ve got every possible advantage before the attack. It’s five days now. Five days until – no. I’m not going to say it. KEFILWE LOBATSE: It’s alright, Paula. You are allowed to hope. Hope is good! LOUISE BAILEY: Blimey, when did you two get so touchy-feely all of a sudden? PAULA COHEN: After my attack of um, verbal diarrhea. Janine ordered us to sit down and talk. It’s amazing how good it feels to share your feelings! Don’t you think so, Jody? JODY MARSH: What? Yeah. rustles Look, these are just notes on regenerative therapies. Told you it was a waste of time coming here. PAULA COHEN: Sorry, Jody. I forgot that the last time you were here with Runner Three - it must have been difficult. JODY MARSH: Getting wrongfully accused of murder and sentenced to death? No, it was a blast! PAULA COHEN: And some of the things Simon said were really hurtful - JODY MARSH: We’ve got everything we can. Let’s go before the Dedlocks come back. LOUISE BAILEY: No, we’re alright. That Darren bloke, Zoe’s stalker, said they vanished two days ago. Exmoor Militia have started moving into their territory. JODY MARSH: He’s still supplying us with intel, even though Zoe’s miles away? LOUISE BAILEY: Sam’s been lying to him, saying she’s in the bog whenever he calls. KEFILWE LOBATSE: It doesn’t seem entirely ethical. JODY MARSH: On the lying front, I still think he’s got us beaten with the whole, “I’m a middle-aged woman, come and see my lovely kittens, Zoe!” thing. PAULA COHEN: Looks like it’s not the only thing he lied about. I’m picking up Dedlocks on the long-range cams. They’re heading right for you. LOUISE BAILEY: Time to make ourselves scarce. opens JODY MARSH: What’s the news on those Dedlocks, Paula? PAULA COHEN: Not great, I’m afraid. They’re moving faster than I anticipated. JODY MARSH: How fast? LOUISE BAILEY: And how many? PAULA COHEN: I’ve only got a couple of long-range cams, but one group of about forty from the industrial estate, and another even bigger group cutting through Brecks Wood. JODY MARSH: That’s directly in our path if we head back to Abel. But if we cut through Beacham Park house we can curve around them and head home. PAULA COHEN: That’s a really good plan, Jody! JODY MARSH: If you say so. KEFILWE LOBATSE: Of course! You’re an expert. Not like me. I’m so glad I have you with me today! LOUISE BAILEY: No offense, but why are you here, Doctor? I mean, aren’t you too valuable to risk? Also a bit out of shape, if you don’t mind me saying. KEFILWE LOBATSE: Oh, don’t be fooled by this belly of mine. I’m as fit as a fiddle. I may not have the speed, but I have the stamina. PAULA COHEN: Okay, guys, the Dedlocks aren’t veering from their path at all, so I don’t think they’ve seen you. Take this stile at the end of the meadow, and you’ll be in the clear. It’s uh, it’s funny you should question Doctor Lobatse’s presence, Louise. We runners can be a bit clannish, can’t we, Jody? JODY MARSH: I guess. LOUISE BAILEY: No, definitely. It’s like, being a runner isn’t what you do, it’s who you are. Don’t you reckon? PAULA COHEN: That’s exactly it! It becomes a core part of your self image. Maybe because - well, I can only speak for myself, but before I became a runner, I did things for Van Ark that I’m not too proud of. I sometimes think some people might call me a war criminal. LOUISE BAILEY: You can talk! At least you weren’t an actual criminal, like me and Jody. JODY MARSH: A criminal? LOUISE BAILEY: Yeah. KEFILWE LOBATSE: Shh! Do you hear that? The sound of marching feet? PAULA COHEN: It’s the Dedlocks. The trees should screen you from them. KEFILWE LOBATSE: But listen. They sound very orderly. They’re running in perfect time. If I look at my watch – yes. Precisely two steps every second. LOUISE BAILEY: That’s weird. The Dedlocks aren’t like, military. PAULA COHEN: No, they’re a rabble. JODY MARSH: So, they disappear for a couple of days, and when they come back, they’re all marching in perfect time. It’s not just me thinking that’s weird, is it? PAULA COHEN: It isn’t just you. They’re moving out of range of my cameras. Sorry guys, you’re going to have to follow them. But carefully. JODY MARSH: Are you getting this through Five’s headcam, Paula? They’re marching down that road like they’re on parade. None of them are looking around, they’re just staring straight ahead, like - LOUISE BAILEY: - they’re all being mind-controlled. JODY MARSH: Yeah. PAULA COHEN: That’s bad news. They’re the nearest non-Abel allied group. If they’ve been taken over wholesale - LOUISE BAILEY: We’ve better stay on them. They’re not paying us any attention, and we need to know what they’re up to! KEFILWE LOBATSE: Yes. Janine will need a report. JODY MARSH: Do you really think of me as a criminal? PAULA COHEN: How do you think of yourself? JODY MARSH: I’m just – I’m Runner Four! PAULA COHEN: You’ve left the past behind, you mean? JODY MARSH: I thought I had. I wanted to. LOUISE BAILEY: You wouldn’t get very far in the nick with that attitude. They’re always telling you you’ve got to “address your offending behavior”, making you go on courses and have treatments to “enhance your thinking skills” so you won’t do it again. After three years in there, my thinking skills were so enhanced, I made Stephen Hawking look like Paris Hilton! JODY MARSH: I mean, what would I address? I fiddled some bank accounts. There aren’t any bank accounts any more. I got some money I can’t spend now. I’ll never do anything like it again. Looking back, it feels stupid. Like another person did it. PAULA COHEN: Guys, those Dedlocks are converging on the same place – the Exmoor Militia warehouse where that boy Darren’s based. LOUISE BAILEY: Maybe they’re trying to take out the militia. That’s good, isn’t it? KEFILWE LOBATSE: If that is what they’re doing. They’re speeding up. Come on, we can’t lose them now! JODY MARSH: How’s it looking, Paula? PAULA COHEN: A third group of Dedlocks are heading in from the west. They’re armed, some with garden equipment, some with sawn-off shotguns. They’re definitely converging on Darren’s warehouse. I’ve tried to raise them on the radio, but no answer. JODY MARSH: Oh, that sounds bad. I mean, Darren’s a bit of a loser, but he’s only a kid. PAULA COHEN: Hang on, I’m - I think I can tune in to the Dedlocks’ radio frequency. I uh – oh. Oh, listen to this. DIANA DUNCAN-PEDLEY: static - supress all resistance and secure the warehouses against counterattack. tone This is a command from Diana Duncan-Pedley. You will move directly to rendezvous with me at the Exmoor Militia warehouses. Once there, you will suppress all resistance and secure the warehouses - static JODY MARSH: Isn’t that the woman Tony told us about? The one who killed New Canton Runner Five in London? PAULA COHEN: Yeah, it is. The woman who probably knows exactly what’s happened to Maxine. If she’s there, if there’s any chance you can find out what she’s up to - KEFILWE LOBATSE: You can count on us, Paula. I can go faster. So can Five. Come on! PAULA COHEN: Careful, guys. My long-range cams are picking up a fourth Dedlock group on your wing, carrying assault rifles. Must be two hundred people, now. Looks like Diana’s taking the militia with overwhelming force. JODY MARSH: We can see them. Some shamblers, too, stumbling through the brambles. There’s bits of flesh caught in all the thorns. The Dedlocks are going to run right into them if they’re not careful. tone LOUISE BAILEY: Huh? That came from the Dedlocks, right? KEFILWE LOBATSE: Yes. Can you see any fast zoms? JODY MARSH: Oh crap, yeah! There’s a whole group of them running through those silver birch. Guys, better get out of the way. LOUISE BAILEY: Wait a minute, they’re not heading for us. Blimey, they’re jumping on the shamblers. They’re eating the shamblers! JODY MARSH: Well, the shamblers are fighting back! I’ve never seen anything like that before. There’s rotten limbs and rotten teeth going everywhere! LOUISE BAILEY: Nice! Zombie-on-zombie violence! PAULA COHEN: laughs Sounds like something the Tories would have a moral panic about. a news reporting tone “Questions were asked in Parliament yesterday about the recent rise in zombie-on-zombie violence.” KEFILWE LOBATSE: Interestingly, the faster zombies do not appear to be any stronger. The fight is more even. DARREN: Yeah, come in. I mean, I surrender. I mean, I surrender, and come in. Because I surrender. PAULA COHEN: That’s Darren. Not that stupid, after all. He opened the comms channel so we can hear him. DARREN: I see you’ve got quite a nice gun. JODY MARSH: We’ve got to get there, now! JODY MARSH: You know, this is it. LOUISE BAILEY: This is what? PAULA COHEN: Zoms on your tail, guys. You’ll have to keep up that pace. JODY MARSH: This is why I’m a runner. This is why the past doesn’t matter to me. I never – in my whole life before, I never did one worthwhile thing. I mean, I was nice to people. I used to knit everyone hats for Christmas with their names on. When I realized I could get away with cooking the books at the bank, I didn’t see why not. I didn’t feel like I was letting myself down, not who I was then. But now I’m - no, it’s stupid. I can’t say it. KEFILWE LOBATSE: A hero? JODY MARSH: Worthwhile. KEFILWE LOBATSE: You should say it. You should think it! What you and Runner Five and Louise and Paula do is heroic! DARREN: Oh, hello. Are you with them? DIANA DUNCAN-PEDLEY: They’re with me. PAULA COHEN: Dammit. She’s got there already. I haven’t seen her anywhere! DARREN: I – hello. Um, can you tell them to put the guns down? I’m not going to give you any trouble. DIANA DUNCAN-PEDLEY: No, you’re not. tone Let me look in your eyes. DARREN: Ow, what are you doing? DIANA DUNCAN-PEDLEY: Ah. Pity. You’re not persuadable. DARREN: I am. I’ll do whatever you want, honest. I like an older woman. I am totally persuadable. DIANA DUNCAN-PEDLEY: That wasn’t what I meant. Shoot him. gunshot LOUISE BAILEY: Jesus! KEFILWE LOBATSE: We must head home. There’s nothing more we can do here. PAULA COHEN: But Diana! If we can capture her, there’s so much she could tell us. LOUISE BAILEY: We can’t capture her. She’s got us outnumbered and outgunned. I want Maxie back, too, but I don’t want to die before she gets here. PAULA COHEN: Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Come back to Abel, guys. LOUISE BAILEY: You don’t - I mean, you don’t – you just don’t do that. He was a kid. PAULA COHEN: Still feel it’s all worth it, Jody? JODY MARSH: Yeah, of course! Diana, she’s just another Van Ark, a psycho who’s crawled out of the woodwork. That’s who we’re fighting. That’s why we’re fighting, isn’t it? PAULA COHEN: It’s interesting you feel that way. Why do you think you’re - JODY MARSH: Hang on. Hold on a minute. “How do you feel about that, Jody? Jody, that must be so difficult for you. How does that make you feel?” Are you psychoanalyzing me? … You are! LOUISE BAILEY: Told you it was a bad idea. KEFILWE LOBATSE: Not analysis, more of - JODY MARSH: Ha, I’ve got it - a test. See if I’m fit for duty after - fair enough, I suppose. So hang on, does that mean Darren isn’t actually dead? PAULA COHEN: I’m afraid he is. She really did kill a teenage boy in cold blood. JODY MARSH: Poor lad. Did I pass? PAULA COHEN: You’re as sane as they come, Jody. I’m going to tell Janine she’d be a fool to take you off active duty, especially now. We need all the runners we can get if we’re going to beat Comansys. And you’ll be the most senior runner left in Abel. We’ve had confirmation – New Canton can’t come with us. So it’ll be me, Louise, and Runner Five off to the Laetitia Greenwald tomorrow, to rescue Maxine. Codex Artefact Ministry of Recovery Note 26 Ministry of Recovery Bulletin 26 Working with industry The Ministry of Recovery continues to liaise with key personnel of various private enterprise companies in London to retrieve and use machinery and technology from zombie-filled buildings. The operation to retrieve heavy lifting equipment from the warehouse of building company Howell & West was a complete success, and we are pleased to report that the Ministry now has use of four large diggers to help in our efforts to remove debris from roads. Our attempt to clear the Pandora Haze tower was unfortunately hampered by unanticipated countermeasures, but we expect to be able to enter the building soon. Letter Hey Five, I know we haven’t really had a chance to talk much lately. This whole thing with Si- Runner 3 has everyone feeling pretty off-kilter, but I just wanted to say… thanks for watching my back today. Here’s something I’ve been working on for you. I know it’s not much, but hopefully it’ll keep you warm. Jody Category:Mission Category:Season Three Category:Letters